Crayon holder



1956 A." N. TAMAIiUNAS 2,772,662

Canon HOLDER- Filed Oct. 1. 1954 l /V VE N TOR. ANTHONY N. TAMAL'UNAS,

his Attorney.

United States Patent This invention relates to a holder for a crayonsuch as is used for marking objects.

It is an object of my invention to provide a crayon holder that isreliable in operation and which is simple, durable and inexpensive inconstruction.

Another object is to provide such a holder having simple means forfeeding the crayon and holding it in adjusted position.

Still another object is to provide such a holder that will firmly graspand feed crayons which are over and under size.

These and other objects will be more apparent after referring to thefollowing specification and attached drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is an elevation of the crayon holder with a crayon therein; and

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on the line II-II of Figure 1 withthe crayon removed.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the reference numeral 2indicates a round tubular member for receiving the crayon C. The insidediameter of the tubular member 2 is constant for the majority of itslength but its forward end portion 4 is slightly reduced in diameter anda recessed portion 6 is provided adjacent thereto. The reduced diameterof portion 4 is just sufficient to receive the largest diameter crayonthat will be used while the remaining portion is of such diameter toloosely receive the crayon. A longitudinal slot 8 is provided in themember 2 and extends from a point adjacent the rearward end to a pointadjacent the forward end. The inner surface of the tubular member 2 hasa plurality of transverse notches 10 therein adjacent each side of theslot 8 for a purpose which will appear later. The notches 10 arepreferably triangular in shape as shown. A spring-like gripping member12 is placed in the recessed portion 6 at the forward end of the member2. The member 12 is made of suitable spring-like metal and in its flatform has a solid portion 13 and a plurality of fingers 14 extendingtherefrom. The ends of the fingers are bent upwardly at 16. In assembly,the member 12 is bent into a substantially circular shape and is placedin the recessed portion 6 where it is held against axial movement by theshoulders of the recess with the fingers 14 facing forwardly. Therecessed portion 6 is slightly longer than the member 12 to allow foraxial expansion when a crayon is inserted therein. The bent up portions16 contacting the inner wall of the tubular member 2 will cause thespring member 12 to have a normally reduced diameter portion so that itwill firmly grasp under sized crayons. Crayons of larger diameter willforce the fingers 14 outwardly while still retaining a grasp on thecrayon. A generally U- shaped spring member 18 is placed in the tubularmember 2 with its base 20 facing forwardly. One leg 22 of the U-shapedmember 18 has a bent up portion 24 at its end for a purpose which willappear later. A diagonal brace 25 is preferably soldered to the underside of the top leg 22 to prevent distortion of the spring 18. A button26 having a rectangular shank 28 which is received in the slot 8 and astem 30 which is passed through a hole in the leg 22 adjacent the bentup portion 24 is attached to the member 18 by flaring the end of stem 30tight against the leg 22 after assembly in the slot 8. The head 32 ofthe button is on the outside of the tubular member 2.

The operation of my device is as follows:

With the parts assembled as shown, a crayon C is moved into .he tubularmember 2 from its forward end until it abuts the U-shaped spring 18.Head 32 of the screw is normally spaced from the wall of the tubularmember 2 as shown but it can be readily depressed by pushing thereon. Inorder to lock the spring member 18 in place it is only necessary thatthe bent portion 24 be received in one of the notches 10. This willprevent pressure on the crayon from moving the member 18 rearwardlywhile at the same time the front end of the crayon will be firmlygrasped by the spring 12. When the crayon becomes worn it is onlynecessary to depress the button 26 by pressure on the head 32 and at thesame time pushing the head 32 forwardly until the bent up portion24springs into another notch 10. It will be seen that the various partscan easily be fabricated and assembled. There is no necessity for thehand to touch the crayon once it is in place in the crayon holderbecause it can be readily fed in the manner described above and thecrayon can be retracted by depressing the screw 26 and moving itrearwardly and pressing the front end of the crayon against any surface.Thus the crayon can be carried in the pocket of a workman without dangerof the crayon breaking or marking any object carried by the workman.

While one embodiment of my invention has been shown and described itwill be apparent that other adaptations and modifications may be madewithout departing from the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A holder for crayons comprising a tubular member I for receiving thecrayon, the inside diameter of said tubular member being constant forthe major portion of its length and slightly greater than the diameterof the largest crayon to be carried thereby, the inside diameter of saidtubular member being reduced at its forward end so as to grip thelargest crayon to be carried, said tubular member having an annularrecess in its forward inner surface with a shoulder at each end, aresilient gripping member disposed in said recess, said gripping memberbeing made of a sheet of spring-like metal having a solid rearwardportion and a plurality of spaced fingers extending forwardly therefrom,said fingers being bent inwardly adjacent their ends to an insidediameter substantially the same as the smallest crayon to be carried,whereby said inside diameter is adjustable to the size of the largestcrayon to be carried when the ends of said gripping member contact saidshoulders, said tubular member having a slot therein extending from apoint adjacent its rearward end to a point adjacent its forward end, agenerally U-shaped spring member disposed in said tubular memberadjacent its rearward end with the base of the U-shaped member facingforwardly, and a member attached to the end of one of the legs of theU-shaped member and extending through said slot to the outside of saidtubular member.

2. A holder for crayons comprising a tubular member for receiving thecrayon, the inside diameter of said tubular member being constant forthe major portion of its length and slightly greater than the diameterof the largest crayon to be carried thereby, the inside diameter of saidtubular member being reduced at its forward end so as to grip thelargest crayon to be carried, said tubular member having an annularrecess in its forward inner surface with a shoulder at each end, aresilient gripping member disposed in said recess, said gripping memberbeing made of a sheet of spring-like metal having a solid rearwardportion and a plurality of spaced fingers extending tor- Wardlytherefrom, said fingers being bent inwardly adjacent their ends to aninside diameter substantially the same as the smallest crayon to becarried, whereby said inside diameter is adjustable to the size of thelargest crayon to be carried when the end of said gripping memhercontact said shoulders, said tubular member having a slot thereinextending from a point adjacent its rearward end to a point adjacent itsforward end, the inner surface of said tubular member having a pluralityof transverse notches therein adjacent said slot, a generally U- shapedspring member disposed in said tubular member adjacent its rearward endwith the base of the U-shaped member facing forwardly, said springmember having a bent up portion at one end of one leg adapted to bereceived in said notches, a brace fastened to one leg of said U-shapedmember and extending diagonally to a point adjacent the base of saidU-shaped member, and a member attached to the end of one of the legsof'the U-shaped member and extending through said slot to the outside ofsaid tubular member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS272,931 Adams Feb. 27, 1883 300,693 Collard June 17, 1884 605,657 ToquetJune 14, 1898 613,452 Lippincott Nov. 1, 1898 1,136,592 Ferrari Apr. 20,1915 2,228,685 Benjamin June 14, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS 435,531 Italy May18, 1948 70,798 Denmark Mar. 27, 1950

